The Babadook: One Hell of a Movie

“The Babadook” is one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s simple, it’s horrifying, and it was splendidly done.

“The Babadook” tells the story of a mother, Amelia played by Essie Davis, and her son, Samuel played by Noah Wiseman, as they attempt to come to terms with a life without a husband and a father. Samuel seems to have a particularly difficult time coming to terms with the loss of his father and has an increased interest in protecting himself from the scary monsters that threaten his sleep by building a variety of weapons such as a crossbow equipped with a nice pointy dart. Amelia struggles as a result of this, often going nights without sleep, or very little of it, and struggles at work, at home, and with her sister, played by Hayley McElhinney. Things turn for the worst when Samuel discovers a book titled The Babadook and Amelia, being exhausted and stressed begins reading it despite never having heard of it or seeing it prior to that night. As can be expected, Samuel is traumatized by this book and mysterious spooky things begin happening to the house as a result of this single book. The movie is incredibly scary, fantastically done, and original, especially the ending.

The best part about this movie? It was directed and written by a female director, Jennifer Kent, and, the best part, this was the first time she has ever directed any film. A fantastic beginning? I think so. She definitely has a fantastic career ahead of her and I will most certainly follow her career.

The fact that this was directed by a female also appears to reflect on the plot as well, consists solely of a mother and her son and their relationship. There is no knight in shining armor that comes to rescue them, rather, it is simply through their own expertise and love for one another that they overcome this terrible episode. The acting that occurs as a result of this is fantastic. Essie Davis brings her all and is chill-worthy. Her scenes nearing the end of the film are nightmarish. This acting also demonstrates the need for this in horror films and not the over-reliance of computer generated scares and gore. The actors, the bumps in the nights, the pop-up-book, all bring about a tension filled horror movie.

I also have to at least comment on the ending. It was unexpected and original. I did not see it coming, nor will you. It was a great ending and I am pleased with the director Kent went with it because if she went any other way, “The Babadook” would have just been like any other horror movie.

See this movie. It is fantastic, scary, and incredibly original. Please please do. Support this woman and her work because she needs to continue creating films like this.